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Category: Gardening

General gardening tips and hints

Fronds Found in Yorkshire

Fronds Found in Yorkshire

yorkshire-december

Is this Maderia or Yorkshire?  Are they Palm trees,  stonking great Yuccas or something else?
The houses in Menston, Yorkshire with the Wharfedale scene on the horizon gives the game away, it is not a photograph of exotic climes. This just shows what can be achieved in a another English garden. The copper beech hedge, still to show leaf colour, is more normal in these suburban gardens.

Whilst these tree specimen are now about 20 foot tall there are many tropical transplants that have been surviving in our gardens. After a mild winter with little snow or hard frosts it will be interesting to see what damage if any has been done. The worst I have noticed is the bent conifer branches due to snow, poor Camellias and the burnt edges of the young Choysia leaves.

At the moment I can’t do anything about it due to the snow covering that is keeping the tender plants under a blanket sheltered from artic winds.

Roll on late spring when the Yorkshire moors will be covered in heath, heather and ferns.

More Space for More Crops

More Space for More Crops

new-picture-2

Gardening will help in the war against economic recession. These tips give you some ideas how to increase the area you cultivate and the number of crops you can grow even if your garden space is restricted.

More Growing Area for a Small Garden

Grow Bags and Containers

  • Grow bags can be stood on paths or waste land and can be used for many crops like onions, salads, tomatoes or courgettes.
  • Make your own grow bag, if they are too expensive, with ordinary soil in a plastic bag. To help water retention I have used those packets of silica they use to keep electrical products dry.
  • To get a deep grow bag I cut them in two and stand them on there ends for crops I want to cosset.
  • There are a wide range of baskets and boxes that can be fixed to a wall or fence to increase your growing area.
  • You can make a raised bed on hard standing. I have put 10 inches of soil over an old tarmac drive and it is fine for leafy crops.

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Growing Vinca Periwinkles

Growing Vinca Periwinkles

Are Vincas a ‘cool’ plant to grow? You may think so but I couldn’t possibly comment.

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Vinca is a low growing herbaceous perennial suitable for ground cover. Vincas generally have sky blue or royal blue star shaped flowers on unkempt enthusiastic foliage.

Vinca Species and Varieties

  • There are several species and hybrids including Vinca major and Vinca minor. The minor species are slightly less robust and slower growing.
  • Vinca minor ‘Argenteovariegata’ shown above flowers from April all through summer.
  • Vinca difformis includes the pale pink ‘Jenny Pym’, with rounded flowers in late autumn. Vinca difformis needs a warm position.
  • White flowering Vincas include  ‘Alba’ and ‘Snowmound’.
  • Alba Aureovariegata has golden variegation and pale blue flowers,
  • Vinca Multiplex is a double flower with dark plum purple flowers.
  • Catharanthus roseus ‘Mediterranean Lilac’ or Vinca rosea the rosy Periwinkle casn be grown from seed.

Vinca

Tips for Growing Vinca Periwinkles

  • The trailing habit makes them suitable for use in containers.
  • Propagate from runners that are prolific.
  • Vinca major and Vinca minor are able to spread rapidly and are sometimes considered weeds. These pictures show how they are colonising a railway embankment and ousting the nettles.
  • Vinca will grow in poor, dry and slightly shaded conditions.
  • The creeping and arching stems  make an attractive carpet of bright green foliage with  the single blue flowers as an added bonus.

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How to Dig a Hole for Plants

How to Dig a Hole for Plants

Dig a £10 hole for a £5 plant!
tree planting at United House of Prayer
‘A big hole for a big tree.’

It is often the easy gardening jobs that can be done better by a professional gardener but can you dig a better hole for planting?
For a long time I have just plonked plants in willy-nilly but then I started thinking about the place my plants were going to live for the rest of their lives.

Holes are Homes for Your Plants Roots

  • Roots anchor a plant safely in the soil.
  • The soil then provides water, air and nutrition for the plants growth.
  • Most roots are nearer the surface than you think. 95% of tree roots are in the top foot of soil.
  • The best soil is at the top. Sub soil is underneath the top soil and can be very compacted and lacking in humus and or drainage.
  • If top soil in thin you can break up the sub soil but do not bring it to the surface.
  • Read about healthy and unhealthy roots

Tips on Plant Holes

  • The hole should be appropriate for the plant your are planting both now and in the future as your plant grows.
  • Dig the hole at least twice as wide as your root ball but not necessarily twice as deep.
  • Most plant pots are round but roots want to have free reign. Aim for a square or oblong hole to discourage roots turning round and round.
  • Break up the bottom of the hole to aid drainage.
  • Add compost particularly if the soil is dry and sandy.
  • A slow release fertilizer can be added and mixed with the soil you will use for back filling. Bone meal, Growmore or blood fish and bone are suitably organic.

Tips for Planting into Holes

  • Plants grown in pots should be planted at the same depth. Put a cane across the hole and nestle the plant in place so the soil level showing on the plant is level with the top of the hole.
  • Clematis are an exception to the plant it level rule, they are best planted 6″ lower than their previous planting depth.
  • Trees and larger plants will need staking. Put your stake in place first so roots are not damaged.
  • Roots that are twisted around the growing pot should be teased out. Compacted soil around the root ball should be gently separated.
  • Pour water into the hole and let it drain away before planting. Keep trees and shrubs well watered for the first year.

Apollo Habtamu Planting his tree at the KMIS tree planting day

Credits
tree planting at United House of Prayer by nowyou33 CC BY-NC 2.0
Apollo Habtamu Planting his tree at the KMIS tree planting day by ILRI CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Rose Pruning in Spring is a Snip

Rose Pruning in Spring is a Snip

Rose Pruning In Spring

  • Pruning in Spring will generate good growth and flowering later in the year.
  • To avoid weak stems prune hard leaving about 12″ on tall Old Fashioned or HT roses and 6″ in short roses. Cut out all spindly growth and very thin stems.
  • Prune in spring to encourage strong stems in an open cup shape of branches.
  • Prune at 45° slopping away from an outward-facing bud.
  • Use good sharp tools it makes rose pruning easier
  • Feel free to reshape your roses at anytime as you would other plants. Roses want to grow and produce seeds via flowers and they will benefit from deadheading and judicious trimming.
  • Water, feed and mulch after pruning.

    • See how the experts prune:

    Rose Snip Tips in Spring

    • The Bourbon type rose De la Maitre-Ecole above will have a fantastic scent when in bloom during mid-summer if you care for it from spring.
    • Fertilize with rose fertilizer that has equal amounts of NPK plus trace elements.
    • Mulch new and young plants with well rotted compost or bark not grass clippings.
    • If planting new roses some people put a banana skin at the bottom of the hole for extra potassium but I would be happy with bone meal.
    • New trees need watering particularly if there is a dry spring.
    • Spray with a fungicide in March or April
    • Give roses space to develop but you can under plant with small bulbs or violets

    our roses
    Other Resources
    25 Types of Rose

    Photo Credits
    from Getrud K CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 source
    our roses by EssjayNZ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

    Snip away at your roses in spring before Easter and the new stems and leaves will help produce some great summer flowers. For big flowers on HT roses dis-bud so just one good one is allowed to flower per stem and you will be rewarded by potentially growing the ‘best in show’.

Berry Bushes for Birds

Berry Bushes for Birds

cotoneaster berries

If you like birds in your garden encourage them with appropriate plants.

Some birds like the seeds in the berry others are keen on the fruit as a whole. Fieldfare, redwings blackbirds thrush and sparrows are just some birds that like a berry good feed.

Deciduous Berry Bushes

  • Berberia thunbergii will thrive in full sun producing small flowers and long lasting red berries.
  • Dog woods like cornus alba will produce creamy white flowers followed by grey coloured berries. Cornus florida is a tree rather than shrub with red berries.
  • Malus floribunda or Crab Apples are potentially very decorative and produce an abundance of fruit.
  • Mountain Ash or Sorbus aucuparia is a small tree with sprays of orange or red berries in autumn.
  • Viburnum trilobum has glossy leaves turning red in autumn. The berries are bright scarlet.
  • Most of these berry bearing bushes have good autumn leaf colour. They all earn there place in the garden.

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Growing Ferns and Shuttlecocks

Growing Ferns and Shuttlecocks

fern

 

Growing Shuttlecock Ferns

My ferns are making a spring comeback and this Ostrich Feather Fern looks like its name. As the fronds uncurl its other common name the Shuttlecock Fern will also be appropriate. However its real name is Matteuccia Struthiopteris the only fern in this particular family. To find out more visit The British Pteridological Society.

The fronds distinctive shape make the fern easy to identify. The ostrich fern looks best grown in groups on its own in dappled shade in woodland. The plant spreads slowly by underground rhizomes and can build up large groups.

Cultivating Ferns

  • Ferns grow in light woodland and most prefer damp and an open structure to the soil with a high humus content.
  • Larger types with delicate fronds dislike windy conditions
  • Ferns are shallow rooted and resent being disturbed.
  • Plant in early autumn to allow roots to settle before winter. Avoid relocating ferns once planted.
  • All soil will benefit from added humus but in sandy soil this and a thick mulch are essential.
  • In a harsh winter mulch to protect the crowns.
  • Once the danger of frost has passed the previous years fronds should be cut back.

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Deadheading Gets More Flowers

Deadheading Gets More Flowers

Don’t let them seed until you have had the fill of flowers from your plants.

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Encourage your plants to go on flowering by taking off the dying and dead flowers to encourage more flowers.

Why is deadheading necessary?
Cutting off the spent flowers before they put energy into seed production is called Deadheading. It is worth doing that now (Mid April) to your Daffodils so the bulbs get the energy for next year.
Many plants particularly bedding plants will flower again and again if deadheaded. Flowers are pre-programmed to go on flowering until they have set seed, as part of species survival. Once they have set seed they stop flowering.
Deadheading tidies up plants that may otherwise get damaged or look unsightly.
Many shrubs will put energy into new growth for next season.
You can extend the flowering period or get a second flush of flowers on Lupins for example.
Deadhead to stop prolific plants from self-sowing in places you do not want and all weeds.


How you Deadhead
Prune the spent or finished flowers or pinching them off with your fingers.
For plants with lots of tiny flowers it may be easier to deadhead by shearing back the whole plant.
Cut off Lupin spikes as the bottom flowers turn to seed so you get a second flush.

What not to Deadhead
Plants grown for the beauty of the seedhead like late flowering clematis Honesty and Nigella.
Plants grown for their winter berries such as Pyracantha and Roses grown for Hips (Rugosa types).
Ornamental grasses and plants that will not flower again that year like Poppies.
Plants that keep on flowering or self-deadhead like Alyssum and modern Petunias.
Plants where you want to collect the seed or self sowers.
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Growing Water Loving Caltha aka Marsh Marigolds

Growing Water Loving Caltha aka Marsh Marigolds

Marsh Marigold

Pond life can be enhanced with Marsh Marigolds also known as Kingcup, Mayflower, May-blobs, Water-bubbles and botanically as Caltha palustris. It grows well in wet meadows, marshes, stream sides and wet woodlands. The leaves are kidney shaped and a glossy, deep green.

Cultivation of Marsh Marigolds
It grows well in shade or partial sunshine and likes damp roots.
Marsh-marigold can be propagated by sowing fresh seed on a good quality seed compost.
Available in aquatic sections of garden centres or from wild seed merchants.
Propagated by division in spring, removing some of the larger leaves to reduce water loss through transpiration.
Ensure that plants are well watered during the establishment phase.

Varieties and Descriptions
Marsh Marigold has yellow petals or sepals and yellow stamens
Caltha palustris ‘Flore Pleno’ has double yellow flowers with greeny-yellow centres.
Caltha palustris alba is more compact and has single white flowers.
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Hippocratic Oats & Medical Garden Conditions

Hippocratic Oats & Medical Garden Conditions

Hippocratic Oats

Do you suffer from Plumbago
Is your back a little sore
Or perhaps it’s Pyracanthus
Which you caught in Singapore
You’ve a nasty little Hosta
Which I think I’ll have to lance
And I notices a Spirea
Has been leading you a dance
Are you getting forgetful
Is Nemesia the cause
Does your Antirrhinum pain you
When you’re walking out of doors
You’ve had Skimmia Rubella
I can see it in your nose
And Cornus Capitosa
Has played havoc with your toes
How is your Viburnum Tinus
Have you lost your sense of smell
Use Syringia Reflexa
That should help to keep it well
I’m afraid your Macrocrocarpus
Isn’t really up to scratch
And do avoid Nigella
It’s a nasty thing to catch
Still I think you are doing nicely
Watch your Quercus in your knees
Take your Berberis twice nightly
Cheerio! Next patient please!

Doctor G. Arden

Herbal treatments for none of the above see